City must approach financial disclosures cautiously

The Portsmouth City Council is nearly a month into its new term and we have heard several references to "campaign issues."

The Portsmouth City Council is nearly a month into its new term and we have heard several references to "campaign issues."

The latest came as Councilor Jack Thorsen began looking into the question of whether the volunteer members of all city land-use boards should be required to file financial disclosure forms with the city.

We urge a heavy dose of caution as the council vets this question.

The first and foremost reason is that it has become increasingly difficult to have a full complement of volunteers for the various boards. This comes as the number of boards has grown over the years. There is the Planning Board, Historic District Commission, Conservation Commission, Technical Advisory Committee, Traffic and Safety Committee, Building Code Board of Appeals, Recreation Board, Planning and Development Council and Economic Development Commission.

All of these could be subject to financial disclosure requirements, and there are other volunteer committees that could as well.

Mayor Bob Lister, while saying he agrees the issue of full disclosure needs to be looked into, added that he feared requiring members of boards and commissions to file financial disclosures may be a disincentive for people to volunteer.

"I'm trying to fill vacancies," he said. "I don't want this to be a reason why people don't want to serve on committees."

He is right to offer those opinions, especially as the city's volunteer board members have faced increased scrutiny as passions flamed over development.

Thorsen acknowledged the issue became more complex as he began researching it. To his credit, he began that work before moving forward too aggressively. Thorsen said he found language in the ordinances and City Charter may be contradictory on this issue.

The first step would be to take an analytical look at the differences in the language of the two documents and determine if action is needed to make them uniform, and that is what Thorsen said he would do. From there, however, the concern has to be whether full financial disclosure, which is required of elected officials, should be required for volunteers.

Caution includes a warning to be mindful of the heated rhetoric of certain residents last year, who accused at least one elected official of having a conflict of interest. That is putting it mildly. Extending an inappropriate allegation to a broad suggestion that the perceived problem may be widespread could cause far more harm than good.

The charter currently requires a listing of all assets, including property and stocks. One has to wonder if such a requirement was really a good idea. Ask yourself honestly if you would want your personal information vetted in order to serve on a local land-use board?

Again, thankfully, Thorsen is expressing a measure of moderation, saying he believes one's residence and publicly traded stocks are personal and not really required for good governance. We agree that one's employment and spousal employment is relevant, as are professional affiliations.

However, we would be careful if anyone were to assume a person's profession would render him or her unfit for a land-use board. One would think volunteers who work in some aspect of development would provide applicable and valuable knowledge to the Planning Board. Think about how the city would want members of the ZBA to have legal experience.

The bottom line is that there is a wide difference in bringing a reasonable and thoughtful uniformity to city policies and potentially continuing a highly questionable witch hunt. If councilors truly keep in mind what is best for the city, we are sure they will reach the proper conclusion on this effort.

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